It's been months since the attempted fall of Beacon. Scars still run deep, even for those that weren't a part of the catastrophe, those watching at home feeling nothing but grief watching on the news as people are torn apart by the Grimm, but still we endured. After a seemingly endless time of just fighting and praying, we won. The hordes of Grimm all but disappeared and the streets of Vale were empty. The shops eventually opened again and life continued on as if nothing happened, but we all know what's really going through our minds: How long until it happens again? But, until then, we maintain the façade that everything is ok.

For Alex though, life stood still for him. That day, he lost not only his team, but his family. He was so focused on doing what he was trained to do that he wasn't there to protect his family, his friends from the Grimm.

He tore through the town, his semblance and great sword dancing in unison as he cut though Beowulf after Beowulf. He managed to make his way to the residential district of Vale, cut and bruised and out of breath, his head aching and body about to give out. The sight that greeted him shocked him down to his core and filled him with fright: The houses on fire, or worse, with Grimm stalking around the interiors. Without thinking, he brought his gloved hand to his mouth and began to yell.

"ADA? Where are you?!" He cried, his voice echoing down the street. the Grimm not even paying attention to him as they savor their quarry. Despite the screaming in his limbs, he pushed himself down the road until he came across a small house, warm and cozy once, now just a shallow husk brought on by this dark day. The house stood in squalor, the walls either crumbling or about to give, the threshold that he crossed countless times as long as he could remember, now almost non-existent. The lifelong home's windows blown out, revealing clearly the large Beowulf filling the living room.

His blood ran cold when the Beowulf turned to face him, and in his jaws was a plush teddy bear, pink with ramshackle stitching that barely held together through the grace of the two brothers, and nothing more. Ada never let that bear go, it was her safety net when Alex wasn't there. Is Great Sword jumped to life, pouring fire dust into its massive cleaver shaped blade, it's fire dwarfed only by his unending rage. His almond colored eyes staring down the cursed creature as if it could feel fear; then he dove in with a mighty roar that didn't sound much more human than the Grimm. Before all goes black, his last image is of little ADA smiling up at him before he left for beacon, making him promise to call as often as he could. No matter how many nights were spend on the call, now it felt like an eternity of missed opportunities.

-The next day-

Alex awoke in a cloud of black smoke, all around him were corpses of Grimm not completely dissolved yet, but not another human soul could be seen. Not one tiny voice asking him about his weapon, not authoritative voices complaining about the fierce intensity of his fighting style, claiming that it needed refining even though it felt natural. All was silent.

Even when his eyes did open, there was not Grimm Pack tearing through the houses, not hostile Atlas bots, just silence. Until at least an airship blew overhead, Atlas of course, blasting out orders to civilians and the wounded for help. He stood from his carnage, looking on it quickly lest he be taken by rage again before accepting that his house is empty, that his family is gone. The voice told them to head to the town center to receive help; there Atlas will mend the wounded and house those that had nowhere to go. It had sounded ideal for him.

The walk under the unforgiving sun was long, but uneventful; maybe they had managed to push them back. Maybe they fixed the Atlas bots glitch and turned the tides; maybe the White Fang got the stupid out of their heads and fought the good fight. Who knows, but there is still a group that needed his attention. During the fight he was so focused on his family, he had abandoned his team, and even if they did not forgive him, he needed to see if they were okay.

When he reached the center, it was calm. Families huddled together in fear, hospital tents full to capacity with the unfortunate civilians that didn't make it out unscathed. It was at this moment he remembered the scroll Beacon forced him to carry at all times. Pulling it out of his red Trench Coat and powering it back on at a nearby charging station, he turned to his team's status screen, and that familiar chill ran down his spine.

His teammate's faces greyed out and their aura levels completely empty. As far as this scroll shown, they were long gone, and he wasn't there for them. If not for the next event, he'd have broken right then, but a light tug on his shoulder grabbed his attention.

Turning to his left, he was greeted by a large pair of silver eyes kept behind a messy bob cut. This girl had a long cloak and was tiny, but you remember her form the orientation ceremony, miss Ruby Rose. Scythe Wielder and bane of Cookies. Alex's team and hers never went on mission together, but her team was the talk of the town. Right now she looked like a scared child, much like Ada.

"Excuse me…I'm trying to find someone and I can't seem to track them down, your tall, would you mind…helping…me?" She asked before looking down. She looked on the verge of tears, and the big brother in him couldn't keep his heart from breaking, Alex had to help.

"Who? What do they look like?" Alex says, his deep voice already breaking from last night's berserker rage, talking hurt and the emotions kept inside hurt worse, but he was needed.

"My sister: Yang! She's almost as tall as you and has REALLY long blonde hair. Oh, and she's real pretty too!" The name rings a bell in Alex's head, and the picture snaps into view. He knew who to look for, but not where to start. Looking around for someone in charge, it didn't take long to find someone who looked like they were from Atlas, however Ruby beats him to the punch.

"Weiss! I found help!" Ruby cheers, jumping up and down to get her attention.

The girl in question rounds about and stares directly at Alex, taking him in while he does the same. This girl, Weiss Schnee, also famous around the school, not just for being Ruby's teammate, but for her name and remarkable beauty. After a short second, she shakes her head, obviously not thrilled with what Ruby found and walks over.

"You dolt! Why would you grab another student? He's probably just as lost as we are!" She scolds Ruby almost immediately and Ruby shrinks. Her index fingers tap together as she recoils under the scrutiny and Alex feels the need to speak up.

"She came to me for a different point of view since your both so…" He paused, not wanting to offend anyone. Not today. "…short." Fuck it.

"How rude!" Weiss stomps and is visibly fuming at the poke at her short stature, but Alex is already moving on.

"This way." He says simply and the others followed. There was some truth to what Ruby said, most of her problem was being so short, Alex spotted Yang during Weiss' tirade and led them through the crowd. People instinctively got out of Alex's way, standing at six foot five with a blood red coat and a great sword demands a certain demeanor in people that don't know him well. Before long, their stood at the front of a tent, and the scene inside is dismal to say the least, and it hits Ruby hard.

Yang, tall, blonde and gorgeous laying on the bed still knocked out with her right arm barely hanging on by sinew and gore. The doctor working his magic to make the next part easy for everyone but its obvious, she's going to lose that arm, don't have to be a genius to know that much. The light faded from her hair a bit and if her eyes opened, it's pretty much certain that it'd be the same for her purple orbs of happiness.

Next to her bed, fretting about everything and visibly uncomfortable, maybe from the stab wound to the gut who knows; was a Raven haired girl with wide amber eyes, currently filled with tears staring down at Yang, Blake Belladonna, ever the stoic one was not holding it together well; her hands cupping Yang's remaining one and oblivious to the new company.

This wasn't his moment, or his family, so Alex decided this was the best time to leave.

"Ruby, im guessing this is what you're looking for, maybe you can help me real quick?" He said, short sweet and to the point, especially since his throat still burned.

"Oh yeah, sure, by the way, what's your name first?" She chuckled, rubbing the back of your head, Weiss barely jumping on her for her mistake. Hopefully understanding that this wasn't the time or place.

"Alex. I was wondering if you've seen this little girl?" He says holding out his scroll. On it is a picture of his little sister Ada, smiling and framed by the sunflowers that she loved so much, in the back you can faintly see the beginnings of the emerald forest. There was a bit dangerous, but she had him. She was safe then. Now…

"Uh, yeah." She said, looking incredibly uncomfortable at this point, and pulling her hood over her head. Weiss leans in and covers her mouth as her eyes dance back and forth to the scroll and Alex's face. By now, Blake has noticed the company and walked over to see the situation.

"How do you know her?" Blake says, face not changing, but the level of caution could be easily heard.

"She's my little sister, our house was overrun with Grimm and I'm hoping she found safety here." Alex says. To bolster his argument, he pulled up a picture of him and Ada together in the same sunflowers, her sitting on his shoulders with an ecstatic look on her face. They went there that day to pick some new sunflowers for Ada and wound up just running around all day; didn't pick a single flower. Upon seeing the picture, Ruby's eyes start running a river of tears and she's shaking while retreating into Weiss' shoulder.

"I'm sorry Alex, but we couldn't get to her in time." Blake said, apology marring those amber eyes of hers as she stares into Alex's Hazel eyes, now growing dark.

"What do you mean?" Every word out of his mouth now a struggle, red lining his vision again; but he must maintain control. They aren't the enemy.

"She was trying to outrun a patrol of Atlas machines but she got trapped on one of the roads. We managed to destroy most of the machines, but by then they- " Ruby started and she chokes up, finding it hard to finish. Alex takes a deep breath and places a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump. When her nervous eyes finally meet his, he keeps his face as calm as he can and gives her his big brother smile.

"I'm thankful that you at least tried, that's all anyone can do. Thank you for telling me." He said choking up slightly. It confirmed his deepest fears, but also put to rest some of how he felt. Yes she was gone, but knowing was completely different than not being certain. He took another stabilizing breath before looking to her one more time, his face serious again.

"How can I help?"